HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — The Hanover NAACP is sounding the alarm about what officials call discriminatory incidents happening regularly in the county's schools that they believe are not being properly addressed.
During a news conference Wednesday night, members of the organization said they could not remain silent after district officials said a Hanover student wrote a racial slur on a Henrico school bus during a football game at Hanover High School last week.
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Hanover student wrote racial slur on school bus during football game
The group feels the incident "can’t be brushed off" because they say they frequently hear about discrimination and believe new steps are needed to make students of color feel safe.
“Our kids are being hurt and our school system wants to ignore it,” Hanover NAACP President Patricia Hunter-Jordan said.
The group is calling on the school system and school board to do more to hold students accountable and create safer spaces for students of color.
Hunter-Jordan called the bus incident "deplorable."
"We want the JV team, all the players, to know that we do not stand behind that, that we are opposed," Hunter-Jordan said.
Community members shared stories of racism and discrimination they experienced in the county.
The organization called for the board of supervisors to appoint people of color, acknowledge that racist acts are not isolated incidents and keep policies in place — including trust, inclusion and equity principles. The group also asked to have the district and school board earn trust with cooperative meetings.
"Now we think it’s time to make public the things they always don’t want to address," Hunter-Jordan said. "I believe the trust that needs to be built is with our school board."
A spokesperson for the Hanover School District provided emails between Hanover Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Lisa Pennycuff and the Hanover NAACP president in response to our inquiry about Wednesday’s meeting.
Pennycuff wrote to the NAACP saying the school system took the bus incident seriously by the joint messages they sent to families and students condemning the incident as racism.
The interim superintendent also listed methods the district has in place to teach anti-bullying, anti-racism, and more. Pennycuff said she addressed the incident with administrators and asked them to remain vigilant while saying she could not comment on disciplinary actions related to the school bus incident.
“While we cannot prevent every student from making a racist or other hateful remark or decision no more than law enforcement officers can prevent every crime from occurring or scientists can prevent every disease, we work diligently to do our part through swift disciplinary action that recognizes the seriousness of this reprehensible behavior and, equally as important, educating our students, which I have outlined above,” she wrote.
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